Three Ways AI Can Break Down Veteran Hiring Barriers
Recruiting and hiring practices constantly adapt to fluctuating markets, new technologies, and uncertain economies. Veteran job seekers and the organizations hoping to hire them are intimately familiar with the challenges of this shifting landscape.
Embracing AI in veteran recruiting and hiring may be the answer to some of these persistent challenges.
Veteran Hiring Challenges
Compared to their civilian counterparts, veterans are 55 percent more likely to be in an executive leadership role and 31 percent more likely to stay in a company for more than four years. It’s obvious that hiring from the military community is a good business move, but many organizations experience obstacles such as difficulty sourcing qualified veterans, a lack of knowledge (or misunderstanding) in how military experience translates to civilian roles, and limited time and resources to devote to veteran hiring initiatives.
Veteran job seekers face similar challenges translating their military experience into civilian terms, along with job titles and descriptions that do not easily align across the military and civilian industries. The result is missed opportunities for both veterans and employers.
How is AI Positioned to Solve These Problems?
“Veterans don’t need to be changed; they need to be understood in context,” says Heather Haag, a U.S. Army Reserve captain and Senior Business Development Manager of Military and Veteran Talent Initiatives at Findem, a leading AI talent-acquisition platform.
Jake Hutchings, Army veteran and EVP of Business Development at RecruitMilitary, agrees.
Enter AI.
1. Translation
“AI can translate military terms and roles into civilian equivalence,” says Haag. “The technology bridges the gaps between the in-demand skills that veterans bring to the workforce, but may not be explicitly listed on a resume.”
However, skill translation is simply scratching the surface of AI’s ability to help break down veteran hiring barriers. AI programs like Findem derive inferred skills, values, and career trajectories of job seekers from over one hundred thousand data points, allowing recruiters to gain a well-rounded understanding of talent beyond one-to-one skills translation.
“We’re utilizing AI to connect dots between military experience and the actual requirements of civilian roles, beyond hard keyword searches,” Haag says. “This makes qualified talent more visible and accessible.”
For job seekers, translation plays a key role in shaping a long-term, post-military career path. “Many veterans struggle to identify opportunities that are a good fit for their experience and future interests,” Hutchings says. “AI tools make those candidates more visible to recruiters and translate their experiences, helping veterans feel like they are finding the right fit for their civilian careers.”
2. Speed & Efficiency
Speeding up the timeline from job opening to onboarding helps both employers and job seekers. But speed isn’t the only factor in the hiring equation – relevance must also be a priority.
Finding the right candidate for a role takes time. Understanding a military background and how those experiences will align with a civilian role takes time. And managing various systems for sourcing, vetting, and outreach takes time. AI tools can streamline these processes in a single place, while also increasing the relevancy of candidate matches. The result? Recruiters spend less time searching for the right candidate and more time connecting, fostering trust with both candidates and employers.
For Hutchings, the advantage of clear, structured candidate insights without extra guesswork is obvious. “Effectively utilizing these tools ensures veteran job seekers connect with jobs that are a good fit, while also helping recruiters find relevant, impactful candidates to make a difference in their organizations,” he says.
3. Strategy
“The stress of talent recruitment is high,” says Haag. “Removing some of that pressure allows talent acquisition teams to focus on impactful actions and building strategies, rather than the tedious tasks that take so much time and effort.”
Hiring strategies often get lost in the shuffle of daily recruitment needs, with veteran hiring initiatives falling short when priorities and resources shift. AI programs that increase efficiency allow recruiters and TA teams to focus on long-term strategies.
“Consider a pipeline perspective,” says Hutchings. “Understanding how a specific military background impacts your business can create long-term advantages. AI programs can help identify and surface those right-fit candidates quickly and easily. With 230,000 transitioning service members every year, your pipeline will never run out.”
Another strategic advantage of utilizing AI in talent management is understanding how veterans fit into an enterprise. Research shows that veterans remain in organizations longer than their civilian counterparts. Not only does finding the right talent for your organization from the military community build a pipeline of potential hires, but it can reduce unnecessary turnover and promote a culture of growth.
Recruiting x AI
AI advancements create both excitement and uncertainty in the recruiting space. It’s important to recognize the limitations. “AI is not meant to replace the human aspects of recruiting,” says Haag. “It’s not a hands-off experience, but instead an enhancement of what talent acquisition is already doing.”
Hutchings agrees, saying, “We look at AI as a way to increase efficiency and speed up the hiring processes, but there’s no replacement for human connection and understanding of backgrounds and experiences.”
Integrating AI and veteran recruitment helps bridge the civilian-military divide in hiring, unlocking opportunities for both employers and job seekers. With the right tools, you can hire smarter, faster, and with greater impact.
These insights were shared during a RecruitMilitary LinkedIn Live session, “AI Meets Mission: Deploying AI to Unlock Veteran Potential.”